12 January 2016

Pha That Luang and Buddha Park visit in Vientiane - Laos

Towards the end of last year, during the festive season, I got to visit Vientiane – Laos, unlike
other South East Asia cities I have visited, the city is extremely quiet and
laid back of course. I was really shocked arriving on a Friday evening to an
awfully quiet place. Having spent some time in Bangkok and arriving that
evening from Hanoi, it was a major shift. There was no traffic jam, no hawkers
crowding your space shoving things in your face, the streets were
wide enough - well better than Hanoi - to manoeuvre around, I even got to ride
a bicycle at ease without any fear.

Laos is a landlocked country occupying the northwest of the
Indochina, surrounded by Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Thailand and Burma. It is the
poorest country in South East Asia and has fallen prey of the Vietnamese War
and still feeling the aftermath of the war. There are still explosives planted
during the America-Vietnam War that have not yet defused and thousands of
Laotians are killed and severely injured by them every year. The capital city is
Vientiane, the largest city in Laos located along the Mekong river banks. The
city’s architect was highly influenced by the French, it can be seen from the
vast mansions in the city. The streets are clean and easy to identify because of the names in each corner of the street. There
is a lot you can get up to in Laos, like visiting the city’s home of the
massive gilded Stupa - the Pha That
Luang which is Laos National Symbol, visiting the Buddha Park which has over 200 sculptures which represent Buddhist
and Hindu religion relations, museums, watching the sunset
by the riverbank is also ideal, just to mention a few.

I got a chance to visit some of the attractions around
Vientiane like the Buddha Park as
well as the Pha That Luang

Buddha
Park

Famous for its 200 statues portraying
both the Gods and Demons of Buddhism, the place is an attraction for tourists
who are intrigued about the complexity of the Buddhist religion. From the reclining
Buddha to the 12 headed statue, monsters and demons, these statues are all
unique in their own way. We had to pay 5,000Kip for the entrance fee and people on that day were lucky to not pay any camera fee but normally an extra 2,000Kip is paid for the Camera. The place
is not a temple but most people treat it like one.

How
to get to the Buddha Park?

I would recommend renting out a TUK TUK,
the park is located around 25 kms away from the centre. We rented a Tuk Tuk via
our hostel and it was 25USD and the
Tuk Tuk was big enough for 6/8 people but it was just 4 people. One of the most
famous attraction you can see on your way to the park is the FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE – the bridge that
connects Thailand and Laos along the Mekong River. The £19millon Bridge was
funded and built by the Australian government with intention to help the country.

Pha That Luang

It's a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa
in the centre of the city and the most important national monument in the country.
The temple is literally covered by gold, yes PURE
GOLD and stands at 45m tall.

The entrance fee is 5,000 KIP - less than a dollar. In all honestly, there isn’t much
to see inside besides being able to touch the GOLD walls, but its always nice to experience things for yourself right!!?

Like all other temples, it’s highly recommended
that you wear clothes that cover your entire body, from legs to shoulder to enter
the temple, however if you don’t mind paying an extra 5.000KIP, rock up in your shorts and a vest.

I would highly recommend young ones and
everyone fit to rent out a bicycle, for a dollar, you get to use the bicycle
the whole day and it’s the best and cheapest way for a tourist to move around
the city.

You can literally cover the whole city in a day, we covered half of the city before I left the other guys I cycled with on that day to carry on other activities.

Tuk Tuk

Pha That Luang

I am hoping to visit Laos again in the future, to get to the other sides of the country and explore it even more. Vientiane was great and relaxing its a good city to go to if your want some quietness.Have you ever been to Laos, Care To Share Your Experience with us?One LoveSigning Out

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